“A new US embassy cable released by Wikileaks today showing U.S. doubts about Saudi oil supplies. While this is nothing new to anyone in the peak oil community, it will help force this issue to become more mainstream.”

“Eric Daniels, the chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group, is in line to receive a bonus of about £1.4m for last year…The figure has been broadly settled on by the Lloyds remuneration committee and discussed with UK Financial Investments (UKFI), which manages the taxpayer’s 41 per cent shareholding in the bank, in recent weeks.”

The 2011 charge on the balance sheets of the large U.K. banks and foreign bank subsidiaries was meant to be only around £1.7 billion, so changing the tax partway through the year was a bit of a surprise.

The timing was important for Osborne, though, as he goes head-to-head for the first time Tuesday afternoon in the Commons against Labour shadow chancellor Ed Balls, and prepares to announce a deal with the banks on business lending and bonuses that looks watered-down at best.

The Chancellor told BBC Radio 4 the banks are in strong enough shape to absorb the extra charge right away, and that they must make their fair contribution to closing the budget deficit.

The maneuvering comes as Osborne puts the final touches to an agreement with the country’s biggest banks to extend about £190 billion in small-business loans this year. To be announced as soon as Thursday, the deal is to include pledges by banks to limit bonus payments and to reveal details of their top earners’ pay packages.